$33M Wells Fargo Settlement Ends Class Action Suit Over Bank’s Alleged Aiding of ‘Free Trial’ Scams

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Wells Fargo & Company is set to pay $33 million to settle a class action lawsuit that alleged the bank knowingly aided in the operation of purported “risk-free” trial scams whereby consumers were duped into paying for full-price monthly subscriptions without consent.

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The Wells Fargo class action settlement agreement received preliminary approval from the court on November 4, 2025 and covers all individuals who were enrolled in recurring billing by any of the Tarr Entities, Triangle Entities and/or Apex Entities from 2009 to present. (A list of the Tarr, Triangle and Apex entities involved in the settlement can be found at the bottom of this post.)

According to the preliminary approval order, the settlement administrator will send out class action settlement notices and establish a settlement website by December 4, 2025.

ClassAction.org will update this page when the official Wells Fargo settlement website is launched.

Per court documents, Wells Fargo settlement class members who submit a valid, timely claim form have several options for reimbursement. Class members who previously received payment from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) in connection with past FTC lawsuits against Triangle and Apex do not need to submit a claim form, as they are already filed within the company’s systems. However, class members who did not receive a past payment from the FTC or were enrolled with a Tarr entity must submit a claim form to receive settlement benefits, court documents state.

Court documents add that settlement class members who submit documented proof of out-of-pocket expenses with a valid claim form are eligible to receive a one-time, pro-rated cash payment based on the amount of documented losses. Under this reimbursement option, proof of covered expenses includes credit card statements, bank statements, receipts and other documents with relevant information.

In lieu of a documented-loss payment, court documents continue, class members enrolled in monthly billing and who submit a valid claim form with no proof are eligible to receive a one-time cash payment of up to $20. The amount each eligible class member may receive will depend on the total number of valid claims submitted and the total costs associated with settlement administration, attorney’s fees and service awards, the settlement agreement explains.

Class members will be able to file a Wells Fargo free trial settlement claim form by mail or online through the court-authorized settlement website once it is established. The preliminary approval order states that the deadline for claim forms to be submitted is tentatively March 4, 2026.

The court will determine whether to grant final approval to the Wells Fargo settlement at a hearing on March 26, 2026. Compensation will begin to be distributed to eligible consumers only after final approval is granted and any appeals are resolved.

The Wells Fargo & Company class action lawsuit alleged that the bank forged a “symbiotic relationship” with the aforementioned personal wellness and dietary supplement entities due to a high-pressure sales culture that drove bankers to open accounts regardless of risks or validity. As a result, the companies behind the free-trial scams—which promoted that consumers ‘only pay for shipping’ for various personal care, electronic cigarette, dietary, hair growth and other products before quickly charging the full product price—could deposit the fraudulent funds into “shell companies” with no real ownership behind them to obtain continued access to credit card accounts.

“Wells Fargo bankers were aware of the Enterprises’ risk-free trial schemes, understood the people listed as ‘owners’ of the Wells Fargo accounts did not actually own or control them, and knew the Enterprises were engaged in credit card laundering,” one lawsuit filed by a court-appointed receiver alleged. “Despite this knowledge, Wells Fargo gladly opened more than 150 bank accounts for the shell companies and straw owners, sometimes opening as many as 6 bank accounts in one day.”

From there, the plaintiffs alleged, Wells Fargo allowed millions to be deposited into the accounts, with the knowledge that the funds were “unlawfully obtained in the risk-free trial schemes,” before later allowing the enterprise defendants to transfer the money from shell accounts to third-party bank accounts.

According to court documents, the Tarr, Apex and Triangle entities include:

• -Tarr Entities: Tarr Inc., Ad Kings LLC, Apex Advertising LLC, Brand Development Corp., Coastal Ads LLC, Delux Advertising LLC, Diamond Ads LLC, Digital Nutra LLC, Exclusive Advertising LLC, Iron Ads, LLC, LeadKing Advertising LLC, Lead Seeker LLC, Mints Marketing LLC, Onyx Ads, LLC, Product Center, LLC, Rebem, LLC, Supertiser LLC, Verticality Advertising, LLC, White Dog Marketing, LLC, and their successors, assigns, affiliates and subsidiaries;
• -Apex Entities: Apex Capital Group, LLC, Capstone Capital Solutions Limited, Clik Trix Limited, Empire Partners Limited, Interzoom Capital Limited, Lead Blast Limited, Mountain Venture Solutions Limited, Nutra Global Limited, Omni Group Limited, Rendezvous IT Limited, Sky Blue Media Limited, and Tactic Solutions Limited, and each of their subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, and assigns; and
• -Triangle Entities: Triangle Media Corporation also doing business as Triangle CRM, Phenom Health, Beauty and Truth, and E-Cigs; Jasper Rain Marketing LLC also doing business as Cranium Power and Phenom Health; Hardwire Interactive Inc. also doing business as Phenom Health, Beauty and Truth, and E-Cigs, and each of their subsidiaries, affiliates, successors, and assigns.

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